No. This is not a scientific article, this is merely my opinion. But I think the title has some truth behind it : Music seems to amplify emotions and stick with memories. I never* tried intoxicants and so I cannot really compare it to drugs or alcohol and claim my analogy to be accurate. But it does mess with my emotions and it seems to mess with others’ as well.
Do not get me wrong : music is very enjoyable to hear. The first piece you listen to in a day or two feels amazing. However, when you get to the sixth song you no longer enjoy the music rather you become its puppet : happy music moves you, sad music downs you, but you keep listening to music after music looking for the first hit you get. This is addiction and through a dangerous mean.
Moreover, I cannot seem to think critically or do any useful work with that : these resonant effects of music. I’m not sure if they last for days or if it only takes a couple of hours for the effect to wear off, but I can certainly feel it, quite hard to pinpoint because of how subtle it comes.
In fact, I have sporadically attempted to break from this sort of addiction. And I highly underline the word addiction as I think of it personally, because eventually when you tune in for so long and so much in a typical day of your life, it becomes a reflex. A habit. Then, an addiction.
Do you feel sad? Let’s put up some blues. Do you feel tired? Maybe some jazz. Do you feel puzzled? There is certainly some ominous music for you. Do you feel happy? The catalogue is filled to the brim at your desire.
As I so numerously attempted to cut the cord with the vibrating sinusoidal space of music, I realized this problem generalizes with many things we desire. We are hooked on dopamine. Our brains are hooked on constant stimulation – we can’t see the end of it.
Do not get me wrong – music is a beautiful duality of invention and discovery of and by humans. Birds chirping is a melody to our ears and rightfully so. Poetry is so often empowered with the tunes they hint at. Humans are musical, they get affected by music, and often produce music in the literal or figurative sense. What I want to highlight is a certain overdose. Not a drop that spills the cup, but a cup that keeps getting filled and spilled, that its water on the bottom starts to get murky as it never breathes.
Next time you listen to a piece of music, consider this : are you actually listening to the tunes and rhythms, or is your brain being mindlessly tiredly stimulated for the one hundredth time without true appreciation of what the music offers? If it’s the latter, maybe a short break can help you better appreciate the tunes later on.
* not on a regular basis allowing me to get a conclusion out of it really. Or sometimes actually never.
indepthed 